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An Infusion Of New Blood In NASCAR

An Opinion




May 2, 2011

By Matthew Pizzolato
Matthew Pizzolato



Over the past several years, there has been a steady influx of talented drivers seeking to gain a foothold in the world of stockcar racing. Some have had very limited success and manage to stick around while others find it not quite to their liking and return to their former racing pursuits.

However, a few of them manage to succeed quite fantastically.

Tony Stewart came from an open wheel racing background and has won two NASCAR championships while Jimmie Johnson came from an off-road racing and motocross background to become the new King of NASCAR and has made history by winning the past five consecutive Championships.

Traditionally, the path that drivers took to stock car racing's premier division began by racing late models at their hometown dirt tracks and gradually climbing through the ranks. It would seem however, that times have changed.

Drivers from all walks of life and all forms of racing want to race in NASCAR. And why shouldn't they? Yet for some reason drivers who take an "alternate" route to get to the top of the stock car racing world cause resentment among some people who feel that they are taking opportunities from drivers who are doing it the old fashioned way.

It matters not how someone manages to acquire an opportunity to race in NASCAR. It just matters that they made it. There is a Native American proverb that states that there are many paths to the top of the mountain, but all lead to the top of the mountain.

A few years ago, Ricky Carmichael made the transition from two wheels to four and began racing in the Truck Series. He has yet to win a race but is showing signs of improvement.

Juan Pablo Montoya climbed to the top of the open-wheel racing world, won Championships in CART, the Indianapolis 500 and then competed in Formula One before coming to NASCAR.

Kimi Raikkonen, a former Formula One World Champion is planning on running a few Truck Series races with Kyle Busch's racing team later this season and has already expressed an interest in running in the Sprint Cup Series.


Travis Pastrana

Last season, Danica Patrick made a much publicized entrance into NASCAR. Her experience with racing stock cars was very limited but over the course of two part-time seasons has made very significant gains.

Drivers from around the world are being drawn to NASCAR and it is a win-win situation for everyone involved. New drivers entering the sport bring their fans with them, thereby exposing new people to NASCAR who ordinarily may not have been exposed to it. And that is good for NASCAR and all of the sponsors that spend their advertising dollars on the sport, which is in turn good for the fans.

Travis Pastrana, a former motocross and World Rally driver who is known primarily for his the freestyle tricks he does with his dirt bike is currently making a foray into the world of stock car racing. In a recent press conference at Richmond, he offered an interesting perspective into what draws outside drivers to NASCAR.

"There's nothing else that really compares to the sport of NASCAR as far as competition. So no matter what you've accomplished. This is where you want to go. And the crowd, whether they understand that initially or not -- that's why you're seeing so many action sports stars come in," Pastrana said. "That's why you're seeing so many guys that want to be a part of NASCAR from all over, from all other genres, because it is the most competitive sport in the world and they want to try their hand at that -- not because it's easy. Not because they think they can make money. Most of them are coming already with bank accounts that will allow them to sit at home and do nothing. They're coming because it's the best competition in the world and they want to be a part of it. At least that's why I'm over here."



If you would like to learn more about Matthew, please check out his web site at matthew-pizzolato.com.



You can contact Matthew Pizzolato at .. Insider Racing News

You Can Read Other Articles By Matthew Pizzolato

The thoughts and ideas expressed by this writer or any other writer on Insider Racing News, are not necessarily the views of the staff and/or management of IRN.

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